Daily Retreat 07/17/08

2008 Jul 17 Thu: Ordinary Weekday Is 26: 7-9. 11. 16-19/ Ps 101(102): 13-14ab and 15. 16-18. 19-21/ Mt 11: 28-30   From today's readings:  "O LORD, You mete out peace to us, for it is You who have accomplished all we have done....  From Heaven the Lord looks down on the earth....  Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest!"   About God   One of the purposes of Scripture meditation is to grow in our understanding and appreciation of God, for He has revealed Himself through His Word.  This is especially important since we all have the tendency to be satisfied with whatever incomplete image of God we've inherited from our respective religious backgrounds and experiences.  The Bible helps us add crucial dimension and color and correction to our uncomplete portraits, and when we learn more about our Maker, we discover new things about our own nature.   For example, today's passage from Isaiah 26 mentions several insights about God and His ways, but some of the insights can easily be glossed over if they're not immediately resonant with our own perceptions of God.   Turning to his Maker, Isaiah notes that "Your name and Your title are the desire of our souls. My soul yearns for You in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for You...."  Tragically, many have not yet identified God with the deepest yearning of their souls - they focus on certain people, things, or achievements that inspire them, but do not realize that it is ultimately the goodness of God that makes them inspirational.   Isaiah also speaks of the chastisement of God, noting not only its severity, but also its salutary purpose.   It seems that many people have dismissed the notion of divine chastisement as somehow outdated, limited to the Old Testament and incompatible with the full revelation of God's love through Jesus Christ.  Yet the New Testament also clearly recognizes the hand of God in earthly chastisements that purify us, and save us from undue attachments to the world, and to ourselves.